In a note to clients Monday covering tech giant Apple (NASDAQ:), analysts at UBS said the iPhone 15 sell-through is better than the iPhone 14 in the total mix, but there are fewer Pro and ProMax models.
The investment bank said its sell-through analysis that indicates moderating declines in key markets like China and solid growth in Europe.
Furthermore, the data suggests a better mix towards the “new” series in the March quarter compared to the same period last year.
“Based on a deep dive of March smartphone sell-through data (Source: Counterpoint Research), the preliminary signs of iPhone demand improvement we highlighted in China is broader than previously expected,” stated UBS.
“Sell-through in the US and Europe during March was up +5% and +27% respectively, stronger than both Jan and Feb. Importantly, the data aligns with checks and comments implied by Verizon that mobility momentum was solid in March,” analysts added.
However, analysts note that within the mix of the sales of 15, the data indicates fewer Pro and Pro Max units in the March quarter than last year, a modest negative for ASPs and product margins.
“Net/net more 15s but fewer Pro/Pro Max likely is a wash,” said UBS. “We estimate iPhone 15 sell-through in the March quarter was ~40M units, up from ~39M iPhone 14 units last March, a 3% increase YoY.”
“At a high-level, the fact that 74% of units sold in the March-24 quarter were 15s, up 400 bps YoY is good for ASPs and product margins. However, the mix within 15s is a modest offset as noted earlier.”
